Utah Promulgation: Piquant Provisions – Red Iguana

I like Mexican food. Mexican food in the Midwest… well, at least here, is weird. From the salsa served in tiny wine decanters and separate bowls to the un-fried, “fried” chimichangas, Mexican food has been made into a boring routine of sameness. And the sad part is, is that I am slowly accepting it. I occasionally crave Mexican food, and we decide to go to the local restaurant, and I am becoming resigned to the fact that it is not spicy, or exciting, or has much different flavors from one dish to the other. Good Mexican food is hard to recreate too.

I grew up going to my favorite Mexican restaurant at least twice a month. At my youngest memory, I’d get the small combination. Eventually, I graduated to the large combination. Then I discovered smothered chili verde burritos, no beans. Wow. It was my favorite. The restaurant was La Frontera. In Utah there was lots of good choices for Mexican food. You had Cafe Sylvestre on the East side, Alberto’s in West Jordan, the semi-Mexican Cafe Rio all over, the taco truck by the Sear’s on 8th and 8th, and La Puente. But, it wasn’t until much later in my life, sadly just a year or two before I left Salt Lake, that I had discovered The Red Iguana.

How many times did I pass this place on North Temple going to and from my Grandparents? How did I miss it for so long? And now Guy Fieri and his Triple D show, shows up and it is probably a mad house now-a-days. I only ate there like 2 or 3 times, but they were memorable, and busy… very busy. But, if there was a place I needed to go, to show my friends that Mexican food isn’t just a standard tortilla, half-heartedly filled with chicken or pork, and maybe has that okay white cheese sauce, then the Red Iguana is it! Just warm your heart with these non-standard, standard pictures of the best Mexican restaurant in Salt Lake…